Steering gear



L A.,' HOUSE. STEERING GEAR. APPLICATION. FILED APR. [8-, 1922 .1 430,448, Patented Sept. 26, 1922 Fig.1 I

Patented 5ept.

JAMES A. HOUSE, OF DYER, TENNESSEE.

STEERING GEAR.

Application filed April 18, 1922. Serial No. 554,620.

the invention is to provide in a device of this character improved means whereby the steering gear may be ad usted to compensate for wear in use.

A further object of the invention is to provide in comblnation with a steering gear, and steering post conmechanism for a steering gear.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a device of this character which is simple in construction and operation, durable in service, and a general improvement in the art.

These and other objects I attain by the construction and arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings wherein for the purpose of illustration is shown a preferred embodiment of my invention and wherein like reference characters designate like parts throughout.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken through a steering gear constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is asection on the line of Figure 1 and Figure 3 is a section on the line 8-3 of Figure 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates a steers ing post or rod which is tubular so as to per mit the passage therethrough of control rods 11 and 12 governing the carburetor and timer of an en 'lne res ectivel The steering rod is provided upon the lower end with an enlargement 13 forming upon the exterior of the steering rod an upwardly directed shoulder 14, and the bore of this enlargement is likewise enlarged and. inters nally screw-threaded with crossed right and left hand worm threads 15 and 16 respectively, as more clearly shown in Figure 3. This enlargement in its construction is necessarily made of separate sections '13 and 13 which are subsequently secured together as by means of welding or in any other suitable manner. The necessity of thus forming the enlargement will hereinafter appear.

The numerals 17 and 18 designate'operating sections each semi-cylindrical in form and each provided upon its exterior with worm screw threads. The threads of the section 17 are right-handed for 'coaction with the right-hand threads of the bore of the enlargement and the threads of the section 18 are left-hand threads for coaction with the left-handed threads thereof. The bore formed by the combination of these sections forms a continuation of the bore of the steering post for the-passage of the op-- crating rods 11 and 12. It will be seen that if the sections 17 and 18 are;held against rotation and the steering post rotated, one of the sections 17 0r-18 will be drawin into the bore of the enlargement and the other section will be moved toward the lower end of the bore. The arrangement of these sections is preferably such that one of the sections reaches the upp'er'limit of its travel before the other of the sections becomes disengaged from the lower end of the bore so as to prevent the disengagement of the section by the rotation of the steering post. Each section 17 and 18 is provided upon its lower end with a tappet face 19 for a purpose presently to appear.

The numeral '20 indicates'a casing provided in opposite walls thereof with bearings 21 and 22 in which are mounted for oscillation the ends of a shaft 23 comprising sections 23 and 23 joined by a two lobe cam member 24 having a central aperture 25 for a purpose presently to appear. The lobes 26 of the cam-member 24 are each adapted for engagement by one of the tappet faces 19 of a section 17 or 18, these tappet faces being held in engagement with'the lobes by means of a sleeve 27 provided at its upper end with an internal shoulder 28 opposing the shoulder ld of the enlargement and bearing thereagainst through medium of an anti-frictionbearing 29. The lower end of the sleeve 27 is externally screwthreaded for coaction with the internalscre hreads 3Q t 1a shar at the upper end of the i of the tappet members against the wall of the vent their rotation. rotating the sleeve 27', which is provider jacent its upper end with a wrench recei ring shoulder 31, the entire steering post assembly with the sections 1'? and 18 may be moved downwardly to force the tappet faces 1.9 into engagement with the lobes 26 of the cam, the shaft 23 hearing the cam rotating to permit these faces to come into proper engagement. The control rods 11 and 1:2 pass through the central. aperture 25 of the cam and through an opening 32 at the lower end of the casing and may accordingly c disposed at a position where they are l connect d with the carbureter and not herein shown.

'rom the foregoing it is believ (l to be ob vious that adjustment of a steering apparatus construct d in accordance with my in vention is accomplished very readily and without the binding engagement commonly accompanying the adjustment of the pre type of worm and pinion steering gear. In this type the threads or teeth of the worm and pinion. become worn upon their respective thrust surfaces and longitudinal adjust-- ment of the worm results in the binding of these thrust surfaces one against the other,

the teeth constantly tending to flatten and causing a substantially broad surface to be brought into engagement to cause the binding. In a device constructed in accordance with my invention, the wear will fall mainly upon the tappet faces and faces of the cam lobes, and this wear may be readily compensated by simply shifting the steering post longitudinally. The wear of the threads of the sections upon the internal surface of the bore of the enlargement will be substantially small, due to the fact, that these threads have a substantial bearing surface in the bore and the wear is accordingly very evenly distributed. Furthermore, by the con struction illustrated the employment of square threads is rendered possible and the e threads will wear much more evenly than the ordinary worm threads employed in steering gears. It will likewise be obviouthat the construction hereinbefore set forth is capable of some change and modification without materially departing from the spirit of my invention and I accordingl do not limit myself thereto except as herein after claimed.

1 claim:

1. In a steering gear, a steering post provided in its lower end with a bore, a pair of sleeve sections mounted within he bore and each provided at its lower end with a tapp'et face, means connecting the steering post and sections whereby rotation of the steering post causes longitudinal. movement sections in opposite directions, and having poi-ti a god by the tapiaces of said sections. llnv a steer g gear, a. steering post pro- \ided in its lower end with a bore, a pair of sleeve sections mounted within the bore and each provided at its lower end with a tap et face, means connecting the steering post and sections whereby rotation of the steering post causes longitudinal movement of the sections in opposite directions, a shaft having portions engaged b y the 'tappet faces ()1 sale sections, and means ror ad usting said steering post upon its longitudinal axis.

3. ln a. steering gear, a steering post provii'led in its lower end with bore, a pair of sle ve sections UHJLlll JOfl ndthin the bore and e ,h provided at its lower end with a tappet face, means coin the. steering post and. a tions where v rotation, of the. steerii g post causes longitudinal movement of the sections in opposite directions, a shaft having portions hy the tappet faces of said sections, and means for adjusting siid steering post upon its longitudinal axis, the upper end of said bore limiting the travel f each of said sleeve sections in one direction.

4. In a steering gear, a hollow steering post provided at its lower end with an enlarged bore, said bore being provided with oppositely directed screw threads, a pair of semi-cylindrical sleeve sections disposed within the bore and oppositely threaded for engagement with the threads of the bore, a

cam embodying a pair of lobes one of which is arranged in the path of movement of each of said sleeve sections, and a rotatably mounted shaft to which the cam is secured.

5. In a steering gear, a hollow steering post provided at its lower end with an en larged bore, said here being provided with oppositely directed screw threads, a pair of semi-cylindrical sleeve sections disposed within the bore and oppositely threaded for engagement with the threads of the bore, a cam embodying a pair of lobes one'of which is arranged in the path of movement of each of said sleeve sections, and a rotatably mounted shaft to which the cam is secured, said cam being provided with an aperture aligning with the bore of the steering post.

6. In a steering gear, a tubular steering post provided at its lower end with an enlargement, the enlargement having a bore, said bore having its walls oppositely screwthreaded, a pair of semi-cylindrical sleeve sections within tile bore and oppositely screw-threaded for coaction with the threaded walls thereof, said sleeves combining to form a continuation of the bore of the steering post, a cam arranged in the path of movement of the sleeve sections and provided with lobes adapted for engagement loy said sleeve sections, and shaft to which the cam is secured. said cam being provided with an aperture aligning with the bore of the steering post.

7. In a steering gear, a tubular steering post provided at its lower end with an enlargement, the enlargement having a bore, said bore having its walls oppositely screwthreaded, a pair of semi-cylindrical sleeve sections within the bore and oppositely screw-threaded for coaction with the threaded walls thereof, said sleeves combining to form a continuation of the bore of the steer in g post, a cam arranged in the path of movement of the sleeve sections and provided with lobes adapted for engagement by said sleeve sections, a shaft to which the cam is secured, said cam being provided with an aperture aligning with the bore of the steering post, a bearing for said shaft, a casing supporting the bearing, a sleeve surrounding the enlarged portion of the steering post and provided at its upper end with a shoulder engaging the upper end of the enlargement thereof, and a threaded connection between the opposite end of the sleeve and the casing.

8. In a steering gear, a tubular steering post provided at its lower end with an enlargement, the enlargement having a bore, said bore having its walls oppositely screwthreaded, a pair of semi-cylindrical sleeve sections within the bore and oppositely screw-threaded for coaction with the threaded walls thereof, said sleeves combining to form a continuation of the bore of the steering post, a cam arranged in the path of movement of the sleeve sections and provided with lobes adapted for engagement by said sleeve sections, a shaft to which the cam is secured, said cam being provided with an aperture aligning with the bore of the steering post, a bearing for said shaft, a casing supporting the bearing, a sleeve surrounding the enlarged portion of the steering post and provided at its upper end with a shoulder engaging the upper end of the enlargement thereof, and a threaded connection between the opposite end of the sleeve and the casing, said casing being provided at the end thereof remote from the point of entrance of the steering post with an aperture aligning with the bore of the steering post.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

JAMES A. HOUSE. 

